


Peiskos

by AlannaofRoses



Series: 12 Days of Batfam Stocking Fics [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Freezing, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21913096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlannaofRoses/pseuds/AlannaofRoses
Summary: When Damian feels like it's his fault that Grayson was injured, the younger boy can't quite believe that he's still wanted no matter what.Minor trigger warning: this got a tiny bit darker than I expected. Damian's thoughts go just a bit into suicidal territory at one point, so just be aware. Dawn, if that's something that bothers you I can remove it.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Series: 12 Days of Batfam Stocking Fics [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563496
Comments: 2
Kudos: 146
Collections: Batfam Christmas Stocking 2019





	Peiskos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DawnsEternalLight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnsEternalLight/gifts).



> This series is all the fics I completed for the 2019 Batfam Christmas Stocking exchange. All are unconnected one shots based on prompts given by the recipient. They are in no particular order, they were uploaded as I finished them. Enjoy!
> 
> The prompts were misunderstanding and fireside fluff. I kind of combined the two.

It was a nasty sort of day in Gotham. It was the kind of cold that settled in your bones, made worse by the persistent damp hanging in the air, not quite frozen enough to settle into snow so that it instead sank into hair and clothes and skin making everything slick and shivery. 

Grayson had almost called off patrol that night, but they’d been dealing with one of the Rogues all week, and Damian knew they had needed to do a regular patrol as soon as possible to remind the regular baddies that the Bats were still watching. 

Understanding did not make the patrol any less miserable.

Damian shivered even under all the layers of his winter Robin costume. He could tell Grayson was suffering just as badly, even if the fearsome Bat didn’t dare show that sort of weakness. Not that there was anyone around to see if he did. Damian was beginning to suspect the criminals of Gotham might have a bit of sense after all.

Of course, as soon as he thought that, they proved him wrong. They were fond of doing that.

“Help!”

The cry was feminine, and close. Batman shot off a grapple almost instantly, swinging across the alleyway. 

Damian sighed and unclipped his own grapple gun, aiming it carefully. At least a good fight would warm them up. 

Batman was already engaged with two of the thugs when Damian landed. The woman they had been attacking was backed against the wall, holding up her hands to shield herself, her purse and it’s contents scattered around her feet. The third man was approaching her threateningly, obviously trusting his compatriots to take care of Batman while he finished his business.

Damian put an end to that delusion quickly enough. 

The thug was better than he’d expected, though. Damian only got in one good hit before the man had turned on him, his face twisted in an ugly sneer.

“Little birdie come to play.” The man hissed. 

“You’re right about one thing.” Damian grinned back. “This is play.” 

The thug was good. Their fight was almost a dance, Damian actually having to work to keep out of range, much less score hits of his own. It was very strange. Gotham thugs weren’t this good. Unless…

“Damian!”

Damian cursed, ducking out of the way as a second bullet slammed into the wall near his head. He’d been so focused on his guy, he’d almost forgot the two Grayson was fighting.

The woman began to shriek, cowering.

It distracted Damian just enough.

The man he’d been fighting slammed his fist against Damian’s elbow. Damian’s entire arm went numb, his katana clattering out of his hand.

A moment later, he froze, the thugs wicked knife pressing into his throat.

“Bats!”

The fighting stopped. Batman was breathing hard, midway between his two foes. One was slumped partially against the brick wall, obviously out of the fight, if only temporarily, but the other was clearly still ready to go.

The gun that had fired earlier lay at the ground at Batman’s feet. 

“Now that I have your attention, Bats,” Damian’s captor began, “I have a proposition. Let me finish what I came here to do, and you and your little birdie won’t be harmed.”

“What did you come here to do?” Batman growled through the voice modulator. 

“Kill the woman.”

The woman in question whimpered, pressing herself further against the wall.

“I can’t let you do that.” Batman answered.

Damian felt his head lift unwillingly as the thug pressed the knife harder against his throat. He knew the second the weapon drew blood because Grayson’s gaze went positively murderous.

“Then I’m afraid we’ll have to kill all three of you.”

Batman’s finger twitched.

They moved at the same time. 

Damian shoved himself back and up, slamming the back of his head into his captor’s face and hearing the satisfying crunch of cartilage as he broke the man’s nose. Batman swung out with all the righteous fury of the Bat and knocked his unsuspecting thug off his feet and straight into unconsciousness.

Unfortunately, the third man had recovered. 

Snap!

Grayson screamed in sudden agony as the third man brought his weapon down on the Bat’s shoulder, right in the gap of armor for the joint. 

Damian was there a second later, dispatching the distracted thug with ease, but it was too late.

Grayson had gone down to one knee, panting hard, his left arm hanging limp at his side. 

Damian gritted his teeth. He turned to the woman. “Get out of here. Find somewhere safe and call the police. Don’t get caught alone until they get to you.”

She nodded, cast one look at the wounded Batman, and fled. 

That taken care of, Damian went to Grayson. Guilt boiled in his gut. He should have known these guys weren’t your average thug from the moment of engagement. He should have paid more attention to their formation. Most importantly, he shouldn’t have gotten distracted and captured. 

Grayson’s injury was his fault.

“Can you walk, Batman?” Damian asked, keeping his voice neutral through sheer force of will.

Grayson nodded, shifted, hissed through his teeth. 

Damian, blinking back tears of shame, ducked under Grayson’s arm and helped his mentor stand without jarring his injury too badly.

He pressed the communicator in his ear. “Penny One?”

“Robin.”

“Batman is injured. Can you send the Batmobile to our location? We will also need the medbay prepped.” He described the injury so Alfred would know what to prepare.

“Affirmative, Robin.”

A moment later, the Batmobile coasted smoothly to a stop a few feet away. Damian helped Batman ease into the passenger seat.

“Dami?” Grayson said in confusion, realizing too late.

“I’m sorry.” Damian closed the door of the Batmobile and fled. 

He wasn’t sure how much time passed. He’d ditched the Robin uniform, swapping it for some clothes lifted from a thrift store. The uniform he’d hidden carefully, knowing the tracking devices sewn into the suit would allow Grayson to find it easily when he wished to.

Perhaps he could give it to the next boy who was to be Robin. 

That was the thought that finally broke him. He curled into a ball, tucked into an alley, and began to sob into his bent knees. He’d failed. After everything that Grayson had done for him, all the progress he had made, he had failed his Batman. Grayson would have had no choice but to fire him, Damian had merely saved him the trouble. It would have hurt Grayson to send him away. 

Night began to fall. Damian stopped shivering. He worried about that for a brief moment before dismissing the thought. Perhaps this was justice. Batman had been injured because of him, and now Gotham would claim her revenge.

It wasn’t like Damian didn’t deserve it.

His eyes closed.

They didn’t reopen.

“DAMIAN!”

Damian startled awake in a rush of clarity. He’d nearly frozen to death, lulled by the slow encroaching cold. 

Apparently he couldn’t even do that right.

“Damian!”

If Damian had had any tears left, they would have fallen as he realized what had saved him.

Grayson had come for him.

“Grayson!” His voice was weak and rough, barely audible. He swallowed, licked his lips, tried to summon moisture enough to call out. “Grayson!”

“Damian? Where are you? Keep talking!”

“I’m here! I’m here Grayson!”

“Dami, oh thank god.” And suddenly Grayson was there, knelt in front of him. His left arm was swaddled and braced against his chest, but his right was reaching out for Damian. 

Salvation.

Damian threw himself forward with a cry, just remembering to angle so he wouldn’t hit Grayson’s injured arm as he pressed himself against his older brother.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Grayson, I didn’t mean to get distracted, I know you got hurt because of me but I’ll never do it again, I promise, please Grayson, don’t make me go. I’ll give up Robin, whatever you want, just please don’t send me away.”

“Dami.” Grayson sounded shocked. He gripped Damian tight around the shoulders and pressed the younger boy to him until Damian felt as if he was being drawn right into Dick’s heart. “Never, Dami. I’m never going to send you away, kiddo. You’re stuck with me forever. I was so worried when I found the uniform.” Grayson’s voice cracked. 

“I’m sorry.” He’d never meant to make Grayson worry. “I thought you wouldn’t want me after what I did, and I didn’t want to have to make you fire me so I just left but I didn’t know where to go and then I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to leave.”

Grayson pressed a kiss into his hair. “Dami, you’re freezing. Let’s get you warmed up, okay?”

Damian sniffled, wiping a hand roughly across his eyes. “Ok.”

Grayson was silent as he led Damian back to the car. Alfred was waiting for them. The butler’s face softened when he saw Damian.

“Alright, Master Damian?”

Damian nodded and let Alfred usher him into the car.

Grayson took the passenger seat, wincing as he jostled his arm on the way in.

Damian bit his lip. 

The ride back to the Manor was just as silent. Damian began to shiver again as the heater did its work, thawing his frozen muscles. He hadn’t been out long enough that he was in any real danger, but another half hour or so and he might have had to worry about his extremities.

Grayson disappeared almost as soon as they reached the Manor, and it was Alfred who led Damian upstairs and drew a warm bath, wrapping him in several layers of towels and setting him in front of a roaring fire once he was finished.

“Alfred?” Damian asked.

“Hmmm?” The butler prompted, rubbing a towel through Damian’s damp hair.

“Is Grayson mad at me?”

Alfred stilled. “Why would you think that, my boy?”

“He hasn’t spoken to me since we got in the car. I thought he wasn’t angry because he came to find me, but then he just left and I don’t know what that means.”

Alfred sighed. “Master Richard is upset, but not at you. He needed some time to process his own feelings about what happened tonight. However, if you make your way down to the sitting room, I believe you may find him ready to talk about it.”

Damian quickly changed into some of his warmest pajamas before following Alfred’s advice and making his way to the sitting room.

Sure enough, his elder brother was curled up on the couch in front of a roaring fire. Grayson’s face was pensive, but it warmed when he saw Damian, and he opened his arms for the boy.

Damian melted into his older brother. “I’m sorry.”

Grayson stroked a hand over his hair. “Not your fault, kiddo. What we do is dangerous. Sometimes we get hurt. I never want you to think that I blame you for this kind of thing. You’re my Robin. It’s my job to protect you.”

“I should… I can do better.”

“Dami, we’ve only been working as a team for a few months now. I don’t expect you to anticipate my every move. You’re well trained, but you were trained to fight alone. Bats, we fight as a unit. Batman and Robin, always. Sometimes Batgirl too, and others. And teammates protect each other. Take hits for each other. Okay?”

Damian looked up at him. “Okay.”

“I don’t…” Grayson swallowed hard. “I don’t ever want you to think that a mistake could make me stop wanting you, Damian. When you ran off tonight, all I could think about was whether you were okay. Alfred had to drug me out of my mind to fix up my shoulder before I went after you. And when I found your uniform, I…” Grayson’s fingers clenched helplessly. 

“I’m sorry, Grayson.” Damian said seriously. “I just… I’ve never cared about someone getting hurt before the way I have you, and when it was my fault… I couldn’t bear it.”

Grayson gave a sad chuckle and pressed a kiss to Damian’s hair. “I love you too, kiddo.”

Alfred entered just then with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. 

Dry, warm, and filled with the sweet drink, Damian curled up next to Grayson, mindful of the other’s sore shoulder. Grayson picked up a book from the side table and began to read quietly, his voice a soothing white noise. Damian let himself drift off to sleep, content in the knowledge that he was loved.


End file.
